Russell Crowe finally reveals his true feelings about Terri Irwin

Russell Crowe has been forced to deny he has been dating Terri Irwin for years.

When asked yesterday about Terri by Dave Hughes, on the KIIS FM drive show, he admitted he did love her, but not in ‘that way’.

Read more: Terri Irwin pokes fun at rumours about her.

“I was great friends with Steve and his wife and his kids are really important to me,” Russell Crowe said. “They’re beautiful people, Terri is one of the greatest women I’ve ever met in my life without their being implication for intimacy or whatever. You know I do love Terri Irwin, I love her kids and I love how she’s kept the memory of Steve alive and respected the work that the two of them had begun and she’s an absolute champion, but we’re not in a relationship.”

While the idea of rumours like that might be frustrating, Crowe said it actually increased their friendship. “You know what it does? It actually gets us on the phone every now and then which is a great service because we just talk and we laugh and then she catches me up on stuff and I catch her up on stuff, so in a funny way magazines with their bulls**t are doing us a service because they’re reminding us to stay in touch,” he said.

Read more: Bindi Irwin slams romance rumours between mum Terri and Russell Crowe.

Crowe, now sporting a greying beard, is in Australia to promote The Mummy, with Tom Cruise.

He appeared at the Australian Premiere of The Mummy in Sydney with son Tennyson Spencer Crowe.

What is your favourite Russell Crowe movie?